Umrah rules: Visitors must be fully vaccinated

Saudi Arabia has announced new COVID-19 updates, so here is everything you need to know about the all-important Umrah rules. Saudi Arabia’s Hajj and Umrah Ministry announced that any visitors doing Umrah and visiting the two holy mosques must be fully vaccinated again COVID-19.

The new rules, which aim to stop the spread of the virus, are now in effect. The new regulations follow the recent changes, which saw it mandatory for the public to be double dosed if they wanted to attend events and tourists destinations.

A statement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency, says: “Umrah performers who have completed the reservation and issuance of a permit to perform Umrah, prayer, or visitation and yet to take the two vaccination doses, must ensure taking the second dose 48 hours before the date of the permit to avoid cancellation, taking into account that the appointments to take and complete the vaccine doses at the vaccination centres throughout the kingdom are open to all.”

According to vaccination rules in Saudi Arabia, approved vaccines include Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, Oxford/AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

Is your vaccine not on the list? You do have options. If you have been vaccinated with Sinopharm or Sinovac, you can receive a booster shot of one of the vaccines that have been approved in the country.

In Saudi Arabia, it is mandatory to download the Tawakkalna application, which highlights your vaccination status and must be presented when you enter public venues. If you are exempt from taking the COVID-19 vaccine, don’t worry: your exempt status will be shown on the Tawakkalna application and you will not be affected by the rules.